The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) place a significant emphasis on reading, reading comprehension, and textual support.  Engaging reluctant readers with the standards in mind can be a daunting task.  At the International Reading Association (IRA) Conference in San Antonio on April 21, 2013, Jane Feber, presented a session specifically about this challenge.  Her answer? 
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Guest Article by Jenna Dubrofsky (A.K.A. Miss Creativity)  Who knew that success could be found in a colored pencil? Three years ago I was online searching for fun, new, and HELPFUL products to use to teach editing in my classroom. I was a third year teacher at the time, but in my first year of
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Whether you are looking for a family day trip idea or a class field trip, museums offer an amazing experience. Everything from art to history to science to just about everything in between can be found at museums. Looking for fun and quirky? Try the Pez Museum in Burlingame, CA.  Are old, slightly-spooky homes more
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Mastering multiplication facts can be very challenging for some students while others pick them up quickly.  Memorization is not always easy, but for most students it is possible.  If you are searching for ways to help your students remember their times tables and want to give them some extra help, check out these great ideas
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  What do Miss Frizzle, The Hungry Caterpillar, and gardening all have in common? They were all part of #TeachChat on March 20th! Our Really Good Teachers not only talk about making science fun, they do it. Find out some of their favorite tips and tricks for integrating science into the curriculum by reading the
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Science instruction, along with social studies, is being pushed to the back burner of educational priorities thanks to the Common Core State Standards and standardized tests. While teachers know that students love experimenting, hands-on learning, and discovering the science in the world around them, test makers have focused so much on math and reading that
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Guest article by Debbie Clement A MONTH of poetry!!! A full month to celebrate the play of words, the lilt of language and consider my roots as a song writer — all at the same time! What is the distance between song writing and poetry? Songs are poems set to a melody!! As a singer-songwriter
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by Steve Reifman, Monthly Columnist My classroom’s daily Reading Workshop period consists of several components: mini-lessons that aim to build students’ comprehension skills, independent reading time, partner reading time, and word work that addresses spelling, grammar, and other language conventions and standards. This article focuses on how I structure the work my students do during
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by Elizabeth Supan, Monthly Columnist Everything old is new again.  It seems like with the passing of time, trends in education tend to come around full circle.  I’ve been teaching for almost twenty years and when I first started, I taught primarily with thematic units.  As the years passed, the use of thematic units seemed
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  Fractions and word problems and time, oh my! Those scary math lessons are no match for the wonderful teachers at #TeachChat. Check out the great ideas and fun lesson suggestions from the #TeachChat on Wednesday, March 6th, 2013. Remember, scroll down and read UP! Then join us on Wednesday, March 20th for the next
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